Scott Foresman Reading Street

Genre Memoir
Writer's Craft Voice/Tone
Writing Trait Word Choice

Identify qualities of a memoir.
Write a memoir with a distinctive voice or tone.
Focus on word choice.
Use a rubric.

Writing Support See the writing support activities in the ELL and Transition Handbook.

FOCUS/IDEAS Descriptive

details make the narrator's experience come alive.

ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS

The memoir tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

VOICE The writer's personality

comes through clearly.

WORD CHOICE The writer uses

vivid adjectives to describe the stray dog (hungry, skinny) and strong verbs (wander, snoozing) to describe actions.

SENTENCES Use of an

interrogative sentence to open the memoir catches the reader's interest.

CONVENTIONS There is

excellent control and accuracy, including effective use of an interrogative sentence.

Teach and Model

Prepare to Write

Prewrite and Draft

Draft and Revise

Connect to Unit Writing

READING-WRITING CONNECTION

Because of Winn-Dixie is
fiction, but it is written
like a memoir because
Opal describes an
interesting experience.
Opal's story has a beginning, middle, and end.
Students will write their own memoir.

A memoir usually tells about events in the order, or
sequence, in which they happened.

Comprehension Skill

EXAMINE THE MODEL Display
Writing Transparency 1A. Explain
that it is a memoir and read it
aloud with the class. Discuss
the model in terms of the writing
traits listed to its left.

Writing Transparency 1A

with | without Answers

WRITER'S CRAFT

Voice/Tone

Display Writing Transparency 1B.

Read aloud the information at the top.
Ask students to tell in their own words what voice or tone is. (the sense of the writer's personality or attitude toward
the subject)
Have students name the voice in each passage in Exercise 1. Elicit reasonable responses for Exercise 2.

GUIDED WRITING Some
students may need more help
with voice. Work with them to
identify the voice of Opal in
Because of Winn-Dixie.

Writing Transparency 1B

with | without Answers

READ THE WRITING PROMPT

Write a memoir about an
experience you have had with a
pet or wild animal. Tell about the
events in sequence. Give details
about what you saw and how
you felt.

Drafting Tips

Include details that explain how you felt as well as what happened.
Vary your sentences to
make your writing more
interesting to read.
Use vivid adjectives and
strong verbs to make the
experience come alive.

GETTING STARTED Students
can do any of the following.

Make a simple graphic organizer to order their ideas. For example, they could draw a row of boxes connected by arrows. In the boxes, they could write the events in the sequence that they occurred.
Close their eyes and replay
the experience in their
minds, looking for specific
details that will interest
their readers.
Visualize a person who
might read their memoir
and write with that
particular person in mind.

EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST

Does my personality come through in my writing?
Do specific details catch the reader's attention?
Have I used any interrogative sentences?
Are words with short vowels spelled correctly?

Revising Tips
Word Choice

Choose strong words that
help your reader relive the
experience with you.
Select words that bring
details vividly to life.
Use words that help
express your feelings
about the experience.

PUBLISHING Students can find
photographs or make drawings
to illustrate their writing and bind
their memoirs in a class
anthology. Some students may
wish to revise their work later.

ASSESSMENT Use the scoring
rubric to evaluate students' work.

Week 1

Memoir 39g–39h

Week 2

Journal Entry 65g–65h

Week 3

Postcard 87g–87h

Week 4

E-mail Invitation
111g–111h

Week 5

Narrative Writing
133g–133h

Personal Narrative

PREVIEW THE UNIT PROMPT

Write a personal narrative about a time that you were a newcomer to a place or situation (a school, club, team, or neighborhood). Explain how you felt and what you found challenging or exciting.

APPLY

A personal narrative is a
story about an interesting
experience or event in the
storyteller's life.
Vivid descriptions create
an effective personal narrative.